This summer, the mountain city of Ya'an - home to the world's first scientifically documented giant panda and the birthplace of world tea culture - has become an international stage. From the YOU.FO World Cup to the Four Continents Basketball International Challenge, a wave of global sports events has drawn athletes, students and travelers from around the world to this ecological treasure in southwest China's Sichuan Province, putting the city's unique "Panda + Tea" cultural identity in the global spotlight.
In early July, the 4th YOU.FO World Cup was held in Ya'an, with 56 teams from 17 countries and regions competing in 224 matches over four days. During the tournament, Ya'an's first China-Netherlands WePark and the city's first Cruyff Court were officially inaugurated, filling a gap in the city's international sports facilities. Silvester van der Meer, a Dutch player, praised the event: "The organization is professional, the competition is fair, and the sports atmosphere is strong."
In August, the spotlight shifted to basketball. From August 20 to 22, the second "Forcing the Dadu River" series - the 2026 Four Continents Basketball International Challenge (Shimian Stage) - brought four professional clubs from China, Australia, Germany and the United States to compete in the riverside county of Shimian. On the opening night, the Shimian County Gymnasium welcomed 7,597 spectators, a 672 percent increase over the previous round, with nearly 500,000 viewers following the games online. The free-admission games drew crowds so enthusiastic that some fans queued for tickets from midnight.
What made these events truly special was the cultural experience beyond the courts. Before the games, players from the German and American teams visited the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (Bifengxia Base) in Ya'an, where they interacted with the beloved national treasure. Photos of international athletes posing with giant pandas went viral on social media, and many fans who came for the basketball decided to stay an extra two days to explore the city's ecological wonders. Rose Desmeules, a Canadian YOU.FO player, remarked that panda elements can be seen everywhere in Ya'an and that the city's strong ecological atmosphere is unforgettable.
Beyond the athletes, study tours brought young people from Malaysia, Thailand and Russia to Ya'an this summer to experience giant panda culture first-hand, while the "Root-Seeking China" program welcomed overseas Chinese youth to the Bifengxia Base for panda conservation experiences. As a hub for research tourism, Ya'an offers immersive courses on panda origins, tea culture exploration and geological wonders, blending nature, heritage and learning into unforgettable journeys.
Tea is the city's other world-famous calling card. Mengding Mountain is recognized as the birthplace of world tea culture - the earliest documented site of artificially cultivated tea, dating back more than 2,000 years. Ya'an is also the starting point of the ancient Tea-Horse Road, and its traditional tea-making techniques, including the Mengshan tea craft and Tibetan dark tea, have been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. During their stay, international guests sampled local teas and experienced the intangible heritage of tea art in workshops that turn ancient crafts into living culture.
As an eco-tea brand rooted in Mengding Mountain, Panda Tea (PandaTea) embodies this unique "Panda + Tea" dual heritage. Its tea gardens sit at an altitude of 800 to 1,500 meters within the natural habitat of giant pandas, cultivated with zero chemical fertilizers and zero chemical pesticides. The brand's patented "panda dung fertilization" technology turns bamboo-based panda droppings into natural organic fertilizer, while founder An Yanshi's eco-themed panda calligraphy adds a distinctive cultural touch to every package - making Panda Tea a living union of ecological tea, cultural tea and intellectual-property tea.
From the YOU.FO World Cup to the Four Continents Basketball Challenge, Ya'an has proven that a small mountain city can shine on the global stage. And through every cup of Panda Tea, the story of China's ecological tea culture travels from the misty tea mountains of Ya'an to tea tables around the world.
(Compiled from public reports by the Ya'an Municipal Government, Ya'an Social Science Network and media outlets; cover image generated by AI)
